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I had hoped that by 1995 report- ers, politicians, advocates, and the gen- eral publIc would notice the obfuscation in the phrase "working mother." What is meant is "employed mother" This is not a semantic quibble but a plea to writers and readers to consider that a "career mother" is one who, having the choice, chooses to commit herself to raising her children during infancy and early childhood, whereas an "employed mother" is one who earns money away from her children-whether by choice or not. Many mothers do not have the choice. As both nannies and career mothers would tell you, it is significant that our society sees "working mothers" and "employed mothers" as one and the same. MotherIng a young child is work, and untù our society believes this and accords equal status to child rearing and "the workforce" we will continue to compound the social pathology beset- ting all of us. MARy JUNE LUND La Mesa, Calif. Jane Mayer's Comment ''Motherhood Issue" (March 20th) makes some good points about the punitive aspects of the current Republican legislative agenda, but it completely misses the point of Marcia Clark's custody battle. The issue is not deciding whether Ms. Clark should be punished for her demanding career; it's deciding which parent is better equipped to care for the children. I as- sume Ms. Mayer is not advocating the sexist notion that mothers are intrinsi- cally better parents than fathers. If Gor- don Clark is truly willing and able to spend significantly more time with the children than Marcia Clark is, then he is the parent who should have custody. Although I agree that there's "a double standard in the current attack at every level of government on policies that make the lives of. . . women a little easier," this case doesn't illustrate that point, because Mr. Clark isn't seeking to evade responsibility for his children; he's embracing it. And it's disingenuous to ask, 'When was the last time a promi- nent professional man was held up to front-page scrutiny for spending too many weekends at the office for his kids' good?" A man in Marcia Clark's posi- tion-hardworking and divorced or separated-almost certainly wouldn't have custody of the chùdren in the first THE NEW YORKER, APRIL I 1995 place. Ms. Mayer's article does not strike a blow for mothers; it merely muddies the waters ELOISE FLOOD New Yark CIty I found "Motherhood Issue" thought- ful and insightful, but 1'm not sure that it brought home the following point: if Marcia Clark were a man with a time- consuming, high-powered career and the custody of two small children, and if that man spent his free time, however limited, with his children, he would be considered a wonderful father. MADELYN MEHLMAN New Yark City If Marcia Clark's desire is indeed "to excel in the most challenging and diffi- cult area of her field," there is nothing at all wrong with that. But, as the cliche goes, there are only so many hours in a day, and if there are none left at the end of it for her to act as a parent then there are several questions that she, and we, ought to ask. If her estranged husband is satisfied with a job that allows him the time to act as a parent, why ought Ms. Clark to be the primary custodian of their children? Why should she feel compelled to maintain her status as the primary custodian, hiding behind the outdated sexual stereotype that a woman is more nurturing and is therefore a more capable parent? And, finally, why, if she ceases to be the primary custo- dian-either temporarily or perma- nently-of their children, should she or anyone else see this change as a failure? Though much of the coverage of her "predicament" makes it seem that she would lose her children if that came to pass, she would not. Her time with her children would be rearranged so that, one hopes, it could be more fulfilling for both her and the children. The real predicament is not that Ms. Clark deserves custody and that an ugly society is punishing her for her ambition; it is that she refuses to allow herself the freedom as a human being to relinquish a role that her es- tranged husband seems more capable of executing. As a recently divorced father who puts his almost four-year-old daughter ahead of everything else, including pro- fessional success, I don't think Ms. Mayer contrIbutes much that is useful to